Patent Literature 1 discloses a known example of a conventional semiconductor device such as the one mentioned above.
This conventional semiconductor device has a paired arm structure formed by a positive side circuit and a negative side circuit. A first metal block is connected to the back side of a plurality of first semiconductor elements (power elements), and a second metal block is connected to the back side of a plurality of second semiconductor elements (rectifying elements). The front side of the first and second semiconductor elements and the first and second metal blocks are connected by a lead frame. The first and second metal blocks form a portion of a main electrode through which principle current flows. The first and second semiconductor elements, the first and second metal blocks, and the lead frame are integrally covered by a package. Within the package, the main electrode and a control electrode that are formed by the lead frame are disposed in nearly the same plane, except for the portion connecting to the first and second semiconductor elements and the first and second metal blocks.